It was hot, It was hot and humid, It was hot and humid and our clothes stuck to us like opposite poles of some climatic magnet. The air was heavy with moisture. Moisture you could touch and feel and see. It was hot. It was hot and humid and the creatures were preparing.
Dusk – still no hint of the explosion that was about to hit us.
Then around the naked light bulb, a poor man-made substitute for the burning sun, life, circling, busy, frantic life. And as each second passed more life. Someone had handed out invitations to the ugly bug ball and it was to be in our room. They all came. They all came,invited or gate-crashers the insects of the night flew and crawled
their way into our midst.
There followed carnage – death on a mass scale as all weapons were
brought to bear on the enemy. Aerosols of insecticide. Aerosols and
swats. Aerosols and swats and shoes. All lined up against the 6 legged
foe and for a time the result was in the balance. Then slowly the tide
turned in favour of humanity. Chemicals and brute force won through.
The occasional straggler arrived to meet a late doom. Serenity
returned. It was still hot. It was raining now, raining hard. A sky
made purple and pink by lightening flashes. The silence broken by
rolling thunder. It was to be a long storm. Coming from the east it
swept across the island over several hours.
It's morning now. Just corpses as a reminder of the battle. Just one
battle. The war may last 3 months. It is getting hot again. Hot and
humid......
OK – I know its a poor pastiche and if you haven't read Ed Mcbain
completely meaningless, however it just seemed appropriate so I hope
you enjoy reading it. Please post comments on the Blog if you get a
chance, we love to read them.
June 8th 2010 – Jajjangbureh, Central River Region, The Gambia,
West Africa.
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